The SS United States spent just 17 years carrying passengers across the Atlantic. It’s been out of service for more than half a century.
Now, Okaloosa County is preparing to sink the 990-foot ocean liner about 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach. The sinking is scheduled for Nov. 12, weather permitting.
Crews are scheduled to begin operations at 10 a.m., although the county hasn’t announced exactly when the ship will go underwater.
A quick history of the ship
Built in Newport News, Virginia, the ship made its first Atlantic crossing in July 1952. It took just three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes to reach Europe, breaking the speed record. It earned the Blue Riband, a title given to the ocean liner with the fastest Atlantic crossing.
More than 70 years later, that passenger liner record still stands.
In 1969, as commercial air travel become more popular, the ship was taken out of service. It eventually ended up in Philadelphia, where it sat for nearly three decades. There were efforts to restore it, but none of those plans worked out.
Okaloosa County purchased the vessel in 2024 and moved it to Mobile, Alabama, where crews have spent more than a year preparing it to become an artificial reef.
A lot of cleaning
According to the county, all 128 tanks that once held fuel or lubricants have been emptied, cleaned and inspected. Workers also removed loose paint, wiring and other materials that could pose environmental concerns.
More than 200 samples were collected to check for regulated chemicals, including PCBs. Those are industrial chemicals once commonly used in electrical equipment and other products. They were banned in the United States in 1979 because of their harmful effects on human health and the environment. They also take a long time to break down.
The county says the environmental cleanup is finished, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has renewed the federal permit for the artificial reef project.
Researchers will also be keeping an eye on what happens after the ship is underwater. Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Dauphin Island Sea Lab and Louisiana State University are partnering on studies of the ship and the surrounding environment.
County officials hope the vessel will attract fish and other marine life while creating a new destination for recreational divers. The project is being paid for with tourism taxes and money from local organizations.
Not everything from the SS United States is going underwater
Its two distinctive funnels, radar mast and hundreds of other artifacts have been saved for a planned museum, where visitors will be able to learn more about the ship’s history.
The public will have an opportunity to mark the occasion before the sinking.
Okaloosa County is hosting a sendoff ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 1:30 p.m. at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center.
The following morning, AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar in Destin will host a public viewing party beginning at 9 a.m. A live feed from the deployment site will be shown on the restaurant’s outdoor screen.
The sinking could draw hundreds of boats to the area. County officials are coordinating with safety agencies and asking anyone watching from the water to follow instructions from safety crews.
Once the SS United States settles on the Gulf floor, researchers will begin documenting how the surrounding environment changes and what marine life eventually makes its home there.
